


Secret Weapon

by baggyeyes



Category: 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 19:14:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9562733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baggyeyes/pseuds/baggyeyes
Summary: Bad day for Dan Evans, not so great day for Charlie Prince





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Untitled](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/261626) by yayforjae. 



> Based on a story by yayforjae, which was based on 3:10 To Yuma (2007) which was itself based on the 1957 film of the same name, which was itself based on a short story of the same name by Elmore Leonard.  
> 

For all intents and purposes, this was turning out to be a very bad day for Dan Evans. Actually, it had been a very bad two days, and if memory served him, Dan thought, it had been three positively shitty years. 

Now he was Ben Wade's prisoner, and he sat shackled on a bed, not unlike the position the Outlaw himself had held in the Bridal Suite hours earlier.

"You look pissed off, Dan," Wade said.

"Well," Dan said with an even bitter tone, "I guess you are the smart one in your gang, after all." 

Wade laughed under his breath. The man stared at Dan with his blue eyes, as intently as he had at the saloon. It unnerved Dan.

"What?" Dan asked.

"Nothing," Ben said. 

"Boss!" came a voice on the other side of the door. "Boss!"

"Does he know another word?" Dan asked.

"Shut up, Dan," Ben said, and walked past the bed to the door. While Wade was at the door, Dan inspected the handcuffs. There was no way that he could see that he could get them off without a key. He looked behind him, and saw the vain one enter, the one dressed like a southern soldier. He was too young to have fought in the war, but that didn't stop the young man from identifying with all of the other ex-soldier turned outlaws.

"Charlie," Ben Wade told the young man, "I need you to watch him. Do not, I repeat, do not hurt him, do not touch him. Do not do anything to him. I'll be back soon." To Dan, Ben Wade turned and smiled. Then he left the room.

The young man, Charlie, sauntered slowly to where Dan sat on the bed. 

"Uh, uh, uh," Charlie said. "Bed's for us. You're the prisoner. On the floor. Now." Charlie motioned with a black gloved finger to the floor. Dan thought briefly about defying the young man, but he knew that without Wade, the pack of dogs were likely to rip him apart. So he stood up, and moved slowly to where the young man pointed. Then he painfully sat down.

"Name's Charlie Prince," the young man said, "best remember that. Never, ever forget that I am Ben Wade's right hand man. You got that, rancher?"

Dan nodded. Charlie laughed.

"Do you speak?" 

"Yes," Dan said. His voice was low.

"My, my," Charlie said, with a mocking smile, "you are as quiet as a church mouse. Do you make any noise?" Dan looked away. 

"I'm talking to you," Charlie said.

"Your questions don't need any answers," Dan said. Dan felt Charlie's eyes bore into his own. Then the young man laughed. It was a kind of wild laugh Dan hadn't heard before. At least not since the battlefield. Abruptly, the young man moved away from Dan and headed for a chair opposite the bed. 

It felt like hours, but Dan figured it had only been roughly a half hour before the young man started mumbling.

"Damn, where is he?" Charlie said. The young man's eyes flashed on Dan again. He got up off the chair and knelt in front of Dan. Charlie took off his gloves, and Dan watched his hands. They were red, calloused hands. Dan felt the young man's left hand grab his chin and lift it up.

"You're not exactly pretty, are you," Charlie said. "Banged up and all . . . wait a minute . . . ," Then Charlie's eyes grew dark and angry.

"Your eyes are green," Charlie seemed to hiss.

"No, they're not," Dan said, "They're . . . ," then he realized he didn't know. Alice told him his eyes looked blue, then seemed brown, then green. "They change."

"What does he see in you?" Charlie demanded, "What happened in that hotel room? Did you let him suck your --" Dan's wooden and metal boot struck out, hard against Charlie's crotch, and sent the young man backward against the wardrobe next to the bed. 

Charlie groaned and gasped, there were tears in his eyes, and his voice came out in little squeaks. His eyes, though, were filled with murderous rage. That Dan could see quite clearly. 

Charlie leapt at Dan, and Dan remembered seeing the young man's angry eyes. But then a blur of black flew by Dan's face. He saw Ben Wade on the floor, as the older man wrestled with the younger man to gain control. It was a hard battle for Wade, Dan could see that Charlie was out of his mind with rage.

Dan glanced at the door and saw that it was open. He couldn't get up off the floor very easy, so he crawled to the side of the bed and hoisted himself off the floor that way. 

"Damn it, Charlie, stop it!" Wade cried in the fight. 

"I'm gonna kill him!" Charlie screamed, "killem!" Dan chanced a look back and saw Ben had Charlie in a headlock, and Charlie bit Wade on the arm a few times, and clawed at Ben's face. Then Charlie started to walk toward Dan with Wade still holding onto him. Wade threw himself down onto the ground, taking Charlie with him. Charlie screamed.

Dan made his break for the door. Just then, Campos came to the door, and blocked him. Campos stood at least three feet taller than Dan. The sharpshooter picked up the rancher and casually tossed him onto the bed. Then he sat there to keep Dan there.

"D'you need help, boss?" Campos asked.

"No," Wade said. By now, Charlie was subdued. He was calm again. "Can I let you go now?" Wade asked Charlie.

Charlie nodded. Dan mused that maybe Charlie didn't want to be let go of. The young man's hateful eyes were once again on the rancher. 

"I'm gonna take that thing offa him," Charlie said, and headed for Dan. With Campos holding Dan, Charlie pulled off Dan's Wooden and Metal boot that covered his peg. Then, Charlie took the opportunity to caress the exposed skin at the top of the peg. Dan's bad leg kicked out and caught Charlie square in the eye. 

"Agh! Goddamn it!" Charlie screamed. "You fucking pegleg! I'm going to cut that fucking thing off and feed it to you, you sonofa--!" Wade dragged Charlie away, in the direction of the commode room. There was a loud crash. Before Dan could turn to look in that direction, he felt cold fingers wrap around his throat. The cold hard fingers squeezed tightly and Dan could not breathe at all. His eyes bulged and the world seemed to contract around him.

"Charlie!" Wade said, "Damn it, Campos, get him off Evans!" Dan saw Campos try, in very bored fashion, to remove the other man's fingers from his throat.

"You asshole! You fucking little pegleg!" Charlie said in Dan's ear, "I'm gonna make you suffer, you fucking little shit!"

"Charlie," Ben Wade said, " I told you, don't hurt him. I told you don't touch him. Didn't I?"

The choking ceased. Dan coughed and spit and coughed again. He turned to see Ben Wade had his gun turned on Charlie.

"Boss," Charlie said, "Boss." Ben motioned for Charlie to go to the door.

"Charlie," Ben said. "Think about this. He's injured. He's shackled. But he's managed to crack you two good ones. I'd say you owe him some respect."

The look Charlie gave Dan was anything but respect. For some reason, Dan preferred the look Charlie gave him, to one Ben Wade gave. He knew exactly what Charlie meant by his gaze. Dan could not fathom Ben's gaze at all.


End file.
